This watchdog blog, by journalist Norman Oder, offers analysis, commentary, and reportage about the $4.9 billion project to build the Barclays Center arena and 16 high-rise buildings at a crucial site in Brooklyn. Dubbed Atlantic Yards by developer Forest City Ratner in 2003, it was rebranded Pacific Park in 2014 after the Chinese government-owned Greenland Group bought a 70% stake in 15 towers. New York State still calls it Atlantic Yards. Contact: AtlanticYardsReport[at]hotmail.com

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

The Master of Science Real Estate Development, a graduate program within Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), has an occasional blog, and I just came across an 8/1/11 post headlined Atlantic Yards discussion with Forest City Ratner:

Just three weeks into the summer semester, the MSRED Class of 2012 spent the afternoon in Brooklyn with Bruce Ratner (CEO Forest City Ratner) and MaryAnne Gilmartin (EVP), overlooking the currently under construction, Atlantic Yards. Situated at the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Ave is the centerpiece of the former 22-acre rail yard, the Barclays Center. Starting next season (2012-2013), the Barclays Center will be home to the relocated NBA franchise, the New Jersey Nets.

Bruce Ratner and MaryAnne Gilmartin spoke at length of the challenges and highlights of the Atlantic Yards development process. In addition to being the largest single development of affordable housing in New York City history, the highly complex Atlantic Yards deal constituted of buying and relocating a sports franchise, contributing $50 million to the renovation of the subway station, and a last-minute road show in China to secure an enormous amount of funds which eventually proved to be a turning point in the development.

In addition to the complexities of the deal, Bruce and MaryAnne were very proud of their innovative progress of modular high rise construction. According to Bruce and MaryAnne, this technique could reduce hard costs by 20 to 25%. While it is unclear whether or not this feat of architectural engineering will be implemented for the Atlantic Yards construction, when and if perfected, the prefabricated modular high rise could be the future of real estate development.

Either Ratner and Gilmartin were misleading the students or they spoke in such a way that the students were misled.

I posted comments pointing out that the project would not be "the largest single development of affordable housing in New York City history," that "last-minute road show in China" didn't quite describe the EB-5 venture, and that the project is not on “the former 22-acre rail yard,” which is not "former," either.

Also note that two said modular would reduce hard costs 20-25%, which is not as much as suggested in some documents--though Ratner and Gilmartin's numbers were likely more precise, factoring in the total amount of hard costs in construction.